Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution

by Helen Zia


Read by Nancy Wu


MP3 | 64 kbps | | April 23, 2019 | 17 hours 13 minutes




The dramatic real life stories of four young people caught up in the mass

exodus of Shanghai in the wake of China's 1949 Communist revolution--a

precursor to the struggles faced by emigrants today.



Shanghai has historically been China's jewel, its richest, most modern and

westernized city. The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated

intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and a thriving middle class when Mao's

proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war. Terrified

of the horrors the Communists would wreak upon their lives, citizens of

Shanghai who could afford to fled in every direction. Seventy years later,

members of the last generation to fully recall this massive exodus have

revealed their stories to Chinese American journalist Helen Zia, who

interviewed hundreds of exiles about their journey through one of the most

tumultuous events of the twentieth century. From these moving accounts, Zia

weaves together the stories of four young Shanghai residents who wrestled

with the decision to abandon everything for an uncertain life as refugees in

Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the United States.



Benny, who as a teenager became the unwilling heir to his father's dark

wartime legacy, must decide either to escape to Hong Kong or navigate the

intricacies of a newly Communist China. The resolute Annuo, forced to flee

her home with her father, a defeated Nationalist official, becomes an

unwelcome exile in Taiwan. The financially strapped Ho fights deportation

from the U.S. in order to continue his studies while his family struggles at

home. And Bing, given away by her poor parents, faces the prospect of a new

life among strangers in America. The lives of these men and women are

marvelously portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal

survival.

 
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/40061595-last-boat-out-of-shanghai